Living better: 10 changes in habits in the living room

 If you change some bad habits that this environment encourages, you will be able to increase the fun and improve your health.

Probably this is the one of all the places in the house where we spend our time, the one where we are the most. Here you will usually find the computer, the TV and the armchairs in which we usually get to read a book.

Few modern inventions have harmed both health and television. We barely move when we are glued to the screen, and in each advertising cut we are tempted by images of greasy and sugary foods. Therefore, the next time you settle in the living room armchair and press the “power” button on the remote control, keep these tips in mind.

1. Make a list of tasks during advertising cuts

Ten minutes before your favorite program starts, make a list of five tasks - no more than two minutes each - that you can carry out during the advertisements. The list may include occupations such as accommodating the magazine rack, watering the plants, lifting the plates from the table or putting the flea pipette on the dog. Performing these small tasks will help you move around the house, and distraction will keep you away from unhealthy food.

2. Hide the remote control

Do you remember when the TVs didn't have a remote control and changing the channel or adjusting the volume forced you to get up from the couch? Remove the batteries from the remote control or hide it in a drawer and that will keep it more active.

3. Forget about dinners in front of the TV

If you love taking dinner to the living room to eat watching the news or a movie, immediately break with that habit. Researchers discovered that the more people watch television during dinner, they eat more and worse, acquire bad eating habits and are more exposed to advertisements that promote unhealthy foods that sabotage diets. In front of the TV, the power goes into the background and we are not fully aware of what we are doing while the family dialogues are in the background. Research carried out by the University of Birmingham showed that those who eat concentrated in the taste and texture of their food resort less to other meals during the day, which can have very positive impacts on their health.

4. Keep the snacks as far away from the armchair as possible

Store French fries, cookies or other snacks near the TV, you are ready to eat unhealthy food without even thinking about it. On the other hand, if you keep them at the bottom of the cupboard, you will have to get up to look for them, and when you pass in front of the kitchen fruit bowl you will become aware that an apple is a healthier option.